Speaking of which, the two of them had really bad luck.
After returning to the village, Mufasa and Terumi Mei got involved with a rebel group opposed to Mizukage Yagura.
The group had grown from frustration—Yagura's blood mist policy didn't just target ordinary Bloodline Limit users. It expanded over time, even persecuting small and mid-sized clan descendants.
Discrimination became rampant, even among other bloodline ninja.
At first, Mufasa and Mei's efforts went smoothly.
They planned an uprising, carefully gathering support. Mei and her right-hand man, Ao, agreed to wait for the right opportunity to strike at Yagura.
"Yagura isn't just Mizukage," Ao had said, adjusting his eye patch. "He's also the Jinchūriki of the Three-Tails. His power is beyond measure. I'll scout ahead."
Ao was planning to use his Byakugan to assess the situation.
Unfortunately, that's when he ran into Obito.
Obito didn't hesitate.
With a flicker of his Sharingan, he cast a powerful Genjutsu and took full control of Ao's mind.
Ao spilled everything.
Terumi Mei. The rebel plans. The hidden supporters. The timing.
Obito smirked behind his mask. "Good thing I showed up when I did. Otherwise, this little rebellion might've actually worked."
And, of course, he blamed Mufasa.
"That damned outsider. Every time a nation touches him, chaos follows."
Obito wasted no time—he forced Yagura into action. Loyal forces swept through the village.
The rebels were caught, imprisoned, or executed.
Terumi Mei herself was placed under house arrest.
Back in Mei's room, she poured out the story in frustration. Mufasa listened quietly, stroking his chin.
He didn't know why Ao had betrayed them. But clearly, Yagura's grip was even tighter now. Any chance for open rebellion in the Mist was gone—for now.
They needed a new approach.
As he fell into deep thought, Mei tossed her curly hair back and locked eyes with him.
"So what," she asked, her emerald eyes glinting, "you gonna marry me to smuggle me out of the Mist?"
Mufasa blinked. "What? I thought you were gonna ask for intel or something… not marriage."
He grinned. "I'm not that kind of guy, y'know."
To be safe, he activated a magnetic field barrier around them—just in case anyone was listening in. Their voices would stay inside.
Inside the dome of silence, Mufasa shared his real plan.
Mei listened closely. By the time he finished, her mouth formed a perfect "O."
"No way. That could work?"
"Trust me," Mufasa said with a confident nod. "It will."
She believed him.
With serious eyes, she gave him a formal bow. "Then… the future of the Mist is in your hands, Lord Mufasa."
Mufasa waved her off. "Alright, alright, don't get all formal on me."
Then something unexpected happened.
Mei reached into the top of her dress.
Mufasa panicked. "WHOA—hey! Not kid-friendly!"
He clamped a hand over his eyes. The other hand waved frantically. "No no no! I'm not that kind of guy!~"
Though… the gap between his fingers was suspiciously wide.
Mei reached deeper. Mufasa could practically hear the dramatic drumroll in his head.
Instead of anything scandalous, she pulled out a black token with a seal etched into it.
"Wait… what?" he said, confused.
"This," Mei explained, "is the access token to my private island—Arima Island. It has a dock, port access, stored supplies, even weapons. And loyal people. Yagura doesn't know it exists."
"With this, you can use it as a base. It'll make your plan much easier to pull off."
Mufasa lowered his hand. "…You were hiding this in your chest?"
Mei nodded. "It's the safest place. No one dares search here."
"…Understandable," Mufasa muttered, trying not to look too defeated.
"By the way," Mei added, "what did you think I was doing just now?"
"…I thought you were offering yourself… y'know… body and soul, the whole holy matrimony shebang~…" Mufasa said under his breath.
Mei recoiled, then scolded him like a mother with a slipper.
"Mufasa, my friend! What kind of things are you imagining?! We're in the middle of a revolution!"
"No time for romance!"
"Focus on the mission!"
"I'll be praying for you every day!"
Mufasa slumped, his heart breaking in real time.
"…Could've at least given me a kiss for motivation," he mumbled.
Such was the life of a revolutionary.
...
Mufasa tucked away the token as keepsake, still faintly carrying Terumi Mei's scent, inside his cloak.
He quietly stepped out of her room, his thoughts racing.
Waiting outside like a shadow was Terumi Kou, Mei's father. His eyes narrowed.
"Well? Are you going to marry my daughter or not?"
Mufasa immediately stiffened, putting on a straight face. "I have a purely professional relationship with your daughter. You hear me?"
Kou blinked. "Professional? You were in her room for thirty minutes."
"Exactly! We were discussing strategy!"
"So... are you marrying her or not?"
Mufasa rolled his eyes. "Well, that depends on your daughter,"
Back in her room, Mei let out a perfectly timed, fake cry.
Kou's expression darkened. "You, what did you do to my daughter? You heartbreaker!"
"Yeah, I'm the heartbreaker!" Mufasa waved. "Next, you're gonna call your guards and kick me out~."
"Guards!" Kou shouted. "Throw this lunatic out!"
"Called it."
The house guards, including the helmeted brawler Bronzehead, shoved Mufasa out with surprisingly little effort.
"Get lost! And never come back!"
As soon as Mufasa hit the street, the Mist Village's ANBU had their chance.
He walked just a few steps alongside Shun and Tabby when—
Thunk! Thunk!
Two kunai flew from the treetops, landing squarely in Mufasa's chest.
"AAGH!" he cried.
"Captain!!" Shun and Tabby screamed.
Blood poured down Mufasa's shirt. Totoro, still watching from the gate, paled.
"Did... did someone really just try an assassination here?!"
Even the ANBU operative who'd thrown the kunai looked stunned. "Wait. That... worked. Damn this is easy?"
Mufasa dropped to one knee, gripping the wounds. "Protecting my crew... is my mission!"
Violet and Shun stared blankly. "But we're fine. You're the only one who's targeted.."
"Captain, hang in there!" Tabby sobbed.
Mufasa stumbled forward. "Our destination doesn't matter. As long as we don't stop... the road will always continue..."
"Captain, you still haven't told us where we're going," Violet muttered.
Mufasa collapsed dramatically. "I won't stop! As long as you don't stop, there must be me... ahead of you!"
A pool of blood spread beneath him. His fingers twitched and, using the blood, he drew a giant arrow on the dirt path.
↑
He tilted his head at it.
The drawing was too ugly, no one understood it.
Mufasa's eye twitched then he added two little dashes under the arrow.
"Captain!" Tabby cried out, voice trembling.
But Mufasa lay completely still.
The theatrical way he collapsed left Totoro, the Hidden Mist ANBU agents, and even random onlookers stunned.
"Wow..." whispered one of the ANBU. "No idea what just happened... but that was dramatic as hell."
Inside the mind-link, Mufasa's voice rang out weakly.
"Alright, hurry up and get me out of here..."
Shun scooped him up onto her back without a word. Tabby wiped her eyes and played along with the act.
"Captain, you always said you loved the ocean," she wailed. "So we'll bury you in the sea!"
The ANBU, still following them in secret, didn't suspect a thing. They trailed the two girls until they reached the shore.
With zero hesitation, they flung Mufasa's body into the sea.
SPLASH.
He vanished beneath the waves.
'....'
Mission complete.
The ANBU team hurried back to report to Mizukage Yagura.
Obito, hidden in the shadows of the war room, listened in.
"What?! Dead from just two kunai?!"
"And they tossed his body into the ocean?!"
He blinked slowly. "Guess I overestimated them... I thought they were a rebel cell loyal to Terumi Mei. Turns out they were really just a... tourist group?"
The ANBU had gathered info: Mufasa and his group had arrived at Terumi Mei's door. Ganji crew said they were just tourists. Mufasa had even claimed he came to propose.
Obito snorted.
"A tourist group? What kind of idiot thinks he can just show up and marry Terumi Mei?"
He waved the matter off.
"Forget the Tekken or whatever they call themselves. Time to rebuild the Seven Ninja Swordsmen."
Back at Mei's estate, her housekeepers were scrubbing the bloodstains off the stone walkway.
Mufasa's fake-death performance had left a mess.
One of the servants muttered, "What a weirdo..."
Just then, a middle-aged vegetable vendor arrived with a bamboo pole over his shoulders, two baskets of fresh produce swinging from either side.
He greeted the servants with a nod and casually dropped off the vegetables. As he turned to leave, his eyes caught the arrow Mufasa had drawn in the dirt.
He didn't say a word.
Back at his small home, the vendor locked the door, pulled out a communication scroll, and began sending coded messages to Hidden Sand Village.
"Kazekage-sama has arrived."
"All operatives, prepare."
"Operation codename: Nightfall."
Despite its size, the Sand ANBU intelligence team embedded in the Mist was surprisingly effective.
Meanwhile, the ship belonging to the Ganji crew had finished offloading fish and was now stacked high with timber.
The captain barked commands across the deck.
"Sails up! Secure the cargo!"
"Next stop: Arima Island!"
Manyo stood atop the mast, cloak billowing in the sea breeze as he watched the Hidden Mist Village fade in the distance.
Shun and the others stood at the stern, staring silently at the shore.
In the ship's cabin, Mufasa sat cross-legged on a bunk, eyes closed in deep thought.
His brow twitched.
"Okay... flagship," he murmured. "Do I go with the Black Pearl? The Flying Dutchman? Or Queen Anne's Revenge?"
He smirked.
He clenched his fist.
"The Whitebeard Pirates are setting sail. And we need a name for our ship worthy of legends!"
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Word count: 1631
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